The Foster Family: December 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The Aliens Have NOT Landed

So if you read my last post and wondered who has hijacked my blog, don't worry! I haven't been abducted by aliens. It's still Eskai :-} A fellow church planting wife and good friend, Anne Milam, is starting a new blog for church planting wives and she has asked me to contribute to the blog. So you will occasionally see an article about my life as the preacher's wife. Don't worry! I will still post about the adventures of the Foster Family and there will still be many pictures of Sarai. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Windows

As I sit at my desk three days before Christmas looking out the window at the clear blue sky and crisp white snow, I'm struck by how much my life has changed in just a year. One of the biggest changes being all this snow outside my window! Charlotte, NC only got this kind of snow once in the seven years we lived there but it is quite the norm here in northern Illinois.

Last winter, my husband and I knew God was leading our family into the wild world of church planting but where He was taking us or when we might get there was still unknown. This winter, we have found ourselves in Gurnee, IL where we have already had a month of services at the Warren Campus of North Point Christian Church. Last year, I would never have dreamed of living just north of Chicago, yet now I'm in love with not only the area but the people here as well.

Last winter, we were living with friends because our home had sold before it was ever put on the market. This winter, we are settling into our new home that has truly been a blessing from God. A year ago, I said good-bye to some of my best friends while wondering if I would every have relationships like these again. Now God has opened up so many new doors for relationships then I every thought possible.

Last Christmas, I was still adjusting to having a toddler who could walk. Not only does she walk now, but she talks in full sentences! Last winter, being that we lived in Charlotte, I could have gone outside in a light coat. Now I wouldn't dare go outside without my wool coat, scarf and gloves on!

But most importantly, I did not fully understand how God could stretch my faith in just 12 months yet I'm amazed at how much I have grown in my relationship with Him.

This past year has been a whirlwind for our family from moving halfway across the country to being a part of this new church work but through it all, God has shown me again and again how much He loves me, how much He cares about the little things, and how much bigger his picture for my life really is. The verse that has encouraged me the most this past year is one I memorized back in elementary school, but this year it has finally found its way to my heart. Jeremiah 29:11 reads, "'For I know the plans I have for you', says the Lord. 'They are plans for your good and not for disaster, to give you a hope and a future.'"

In many ways, my life this past year has not been what I would have expected. But then again, as a church planting wife, it usually isn't and I would not want it to change one bit. As you look through the window of this past year, how has your life as a church planting wife been different then what you had anticipated and what has God taught you through the unexpected things?

Saturday, December 13, 2008

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree! How lovely are your branches....covered in snow! We did a brand new thing this year and cut our own tree down! What an experience! This past Saturday, our friends Tim, Mary Beth and Hannah Babcock invited us to join them. Together we traveled to a local farm and shared in this Christmas tradition. It had to have been the coldest day yet of this winter not to mention it had snowed all morning. We bundled the girls up in their snowsuits and headed out to the farm just after lunch. They took us out to the tree fields on a wagon (which Sarai was excited about) and dropped us off to find the "perfect tree." Just out of curiosity, does the "perfect tree" exist? After searching for more than 30 minutes and realizing that we could no longer feel our toes, all the trees looked "perfect!" Both families did find trees to call their own and we eagerly caught the next wagon back to the farmhouse. Mary Beth and I quickly volunteered to take the girls inside to find some hot cocoa and let our limbs thaw out while the men got the trees attached to our vehicles. Make sure to check out the picture of Hannah and Sarai! Next year we shouldn't go in the middle of naptime :-) But we had so much fun! Thanks for letting us tag along Babcocks!

I would love to say that we came home and began the process of tree decoration but unfortunately, we had a Christmas party to attend that evening and the next three nights were also tied up with meetings and such. Mike did get it put in the stand Saturday afternoon but it stood bare except for a star till Wednesday night. But Wednesday evening the fun began! I had no idea Sarai would get as into the decorating as she did. She couldn't get an ornament on the tree fast enough before she was heading back to the boxes to look for another one! It was so enjoyable to see her excitment :-) And we even managed to snag a family picture when the tree was all done. Amazing since it was 9:15 and Sarai usually goes to bed no later than 8.

Just for a minute I need to tell you about one of the things I feel in love with about our house. I used to joke with Mike that someday I would love to have a house with a picture window to display my Christmas tree. If you notice, our tree is displayed in my picture window this year :-) When Mike and I found this house on the internet, I didn't notice the bay window in the living room until we actually pulled into the driveway to walk through it. We did not buy this house just because of the picture window of course but it was sure a nice cherry on top. I know it put a smile on God's face to see my excitment over a silly picture window :-) Merry Christmas everyone!

Sarai showing off her ornament

Where's baby Jesus, Sarai?

Friday, December 12, 2008

Giving Thanks

Just thought you all would enjoy some pictures from our Thanksgiving celebration. My entire family flew in on Thanksgiving day for the holiday. It was so much fun to have my parents, my brother Philip, his wife Michelle, my other brother John and his girlfriend Sarah here. I had done all of the cooking, baking and even the turkey before Thursday so the only thing we had to do was drive home from the airport and throw all the food into the oven. It was so nice!

Saturday we took a day trip to downtown Chicago. It was obviously a cold day given where we live but it wasn't as cold as it could have been! Sarai was so funny...we had her all bundled up in her winter coat but she refused to wear her hat or gloves. Needless to say, after about an hour of walking around in the cold, her hands had found there way far up into her coat sleeves and all you could see out of the hood of her coat was her eyes. Maybe next time she will wear them :-) We walked from the train station to Millennium Park and enjoyed watching the ice skaters as well as seeing our funny reflections in "The Bean," which is a large reflective sculpture in the park. From there we caught the "L" and headed to Lou Malnati's Pizzaria for dinner. Yummy! The city was so beautiful at night and all decked out for Christmas!

We also had our first snow of the year Sunday night. My sister-in-law, Michelle, was super excited because she had never experienced that much snow. I do have to admit that even though I'm not ready for the cold, winter months to be here, the snow was quite beautiful. And it was fun to see Sarai enjoy her first snow. Initially she wasn't too sure about it but Michelle showed her how fun it was and pretty soon Sarai was helping with the snowman. They even got my dad to make a snow angel!

The only crummy part of the whole visit was Sunday night Sarai came down with a 24 hour flu bug and over the next four days, 7 of the 9 of us got sick. Not fun! I felt so bad that everyone caught it. Hopefully my family will still be willing to come see us again :-)

Oh, and what better way to end a visit with Nana then by making chocolate chip cookies! It makes my heart smile to see my mother and my daughter baking together...and Papa helped too!